


Distortion

by SoVeryAverageMe



Series: muses (a hq!! rewatch project) [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Kageyama Tobio-centric, Mentioned Karasuno Volleyball Club - Freeform, No manga spoilers but enhanced by knowledge of it, S01E02: Karasuno High School Volleyball Club, introspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22186972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoVeryAverageMe/pseuds/SoVeryAverageMe
Summary: In canon, Kageyama Tobio doesn't get accepted into the best school in the prefecture leading him to enroll at Karasuno. But what if he did get in?(Or, scenes from a reality in which Kageyama played for Shiratorizawa).
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio, Kageyama Tobio & Shiratorizawa Academy Volleyball Club
Series: muses (a hq!! rewatch project) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592755
Kudos: 90





	Distortion

When he applied to high schools, he was not picky. There was one school that stood above the rest and all the others were just back-ups. The only school in the prefecture that he didn’t apply to was Aoba Johsai, which was, coincidentally, the only one that Kunimi and Kindaichi cared about. He was thankful that they don’t set their sights on his number one school. 

After the applications were submitted, all he could do was practice volleyball and wait for answers. It was an uncomfortable feeling, being unable to control his own future. Time passed, and soon enough the decisions came. The acceptances and rejections were piled onto his desk, but he still hadn’t heard from the only one that mattered. 

Then, the unbelievable happened.  _ He got in. _

The acceptance letter was taped to his fridge at home. He knew that it was a longshot to get into the school of his dreams. His grades weren’t quite up to their standards, but he had hoped that his volleyball skill would pull him through. In the end, they did. 

Tomorrow, Kageyama would start his first year at Shiratorizawa Academy.

* * *

Shiratorizawa had no shortage of talented setters, but Kageyama was out to prove that he was the best. He spent hours upon hours after practice, begging any of their starting players to practice with him. He hoped to find one that was good enough to keep up with his tosses. 

Ushijima was one of the most talented spikers that he’d ever seen, augmented by raw power personified. He, like Kageyama, was a single-minded volleyball machine. Even so, proving himself as setter was difficult, with both Semi and Shirabu to compete against. 

Eventually, Coach Washijou grew tired of their bickering and competition. It was agreed that they’d prove themselves at Interhigh. Whoever performed the best would become Shiratorizawa’s primary setter. Kageyama had to win. 

Before the tournament began, he ran into Hinata outside of the bathrooms. He hardly remembered the other boy from their single middle school game, but he definitely remembered Kageyama. 

“You!” Hinata was holding his stomach, crouching over. “I’m going to beat you.” 

Kageyama shook his head, “Not if you’ve wasted the last 6 months like you wasted all of middle school. Raw athleticism doesn’t make you good at volleyball.” 

The other boy didn’t answer him, instead running into the bathroom. He turned to walk back to the team, catching the eyes of some of his teammates that had followed him. They were both giving him judgemental looks. “What? I’m just telling the truth. Better to set him up for disappointment now.”

Kageyama didn’t see Hinata (or Karasuno) for the rest of the tournament. They had lost against Seijoh. It was a game that ended closer than expected, but Aoba Johsai was still far and away the better team. Some of his teammates had gone to watch the game, but he had skipped in favor of practicing for whoever they would have to face in the finals. 

Like the previous year, it would come down to Seijoh versus Shiratorizawa. 

In the end, though,  _ Seijoh won _ . It was a close game, but Shiratorizawa was half a second too late with their block and the ball hit the ground. 

Afterwards,, Oikawa talked with Ushijima, probably lording the victory over him, before coming over to talk to Kageyama. 

“Tobio-chan.”

“Here to gloat?” He curled in on himself. He already knew that he wasn’t going to get to be Shiratorizawa’s setter, but Oikawa was just going to make it worse.

“Actually, no.” Oikawa crossed his arms. “I was going to, but it looks like you’re beating yourself up enough as it is. Instead, here’s some advice.”

“I don’t need your advice.”

“You don’t have a choice.” He laid a hand on his shoulder, which was shrugged off. “Tobio-chan, you need to drop the dictator king act. You may be the setter, but you need them just as much as they need you.” He gave Kageyama one last look. “I’d suggest taking my advice. My team won after all.” 

Oikawa walked away, going to celebrate with his team, leaving Kageyama to wallow in his own pity. What an asshole.

* * *

When Spring High came around, Kageyama had been demoted to back-up setter and occasional pinch server. It was absolutely mortifying. He should be the one out on the court. 

They made it to the finals again, this time facing off against Karasuno, who had beat Seijoh by the smallest of margins. Kageyama was on the sidelines, watching the game. It was the first time that he’d ever got to see Hinata play. 

The other boy had vastly improved since his middle school days. Karasuno pulled out trick play after trick play, with Hinata zooming around the court. The game was closer than it should have been, spanning the entire five sets. In the end, Karasuno put up a monumental effort to beat Shiratorizawa. It was  _ not enough _ . 

They win the game without the help of Kageyama. But at least they get to go to Nationals. He stepped on the court exactly once during Nationals. A single chance to prove himself with his vicious jump serve. 

It wasn’t enough for him, something still felt like it was missing.

* * *

It wasn’t until third year that Karasuno and Shiratorizawa got a proper rematch, with both Hinata and Kageyama as starting players. Karasuno beat Dateko during the semi-finals, while Kageyama got to have one more rematch against his former Kitagawa Daiichi teammates before they graduated. 

Hinata left his friends to go talk to Kageyama through the net. The other two stared holes into Kageyama has he was approached. “Some kind of guard dogs you have there.” 

He glanced back at his teammates. “I’ve told Tsukki and Yamaguchi about you. About how we have to beat you today.” 

“They seem like good friends.” 

“The best,” he tilted his head, the full force of his stare hitting Kageyama. “But we’re not here to talk about that.” 

“I hope you’ve been practicing.” 

“So do I.” 

Karasuno’s captain called for a team huddle, breaking up their discussion, and Kageyama walked back to the sidelines to strategize with his own team. Before they know it, the game was about to begin. 

Kageyama made eye contact through the net at Hinata, who gave him an even stare back, fully immersed in the game. Smirking, he threw the ball up into the air and served.

* * *

Five years after their final game against each other, Kageyama and Hinata found themselves on the court together again. This time on the same side.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! In another reality, this fic is much longer and delves into more of the consequences of Shiratorizawa!Kageyama -- it's one where I'm not trying to do a rewatch challenge. 
> 
> Feel free to check out what I'm up to on other parts of the internet (I'm probably regretting this challenge on [twitter](https://twitter.com/SoVeryAverageMe) or celebrating the return of the Haikyuu!! anime on [tumblr](https://soveryaverageme.tumblr.com/)).


End file.
